


Love in a Hopeless Place

by TasteTheRainbow



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-04
Updated: 2012-07-04
Packaged: 2017-11-09 04:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/451341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TasteTheRainbow/pseuds/TasteTheRainbow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What Jared expects to find at Chad's extremely cliche bachelor party is some secondhand embarrassment, followed by a raging hangover the morning after.  What he's not expecting is Jensen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love in a Hopeless Place

It's not the most conventional bachelor party Jared has ever been to, but then Chad's never been the most conventional anything so he supposes it makes sense.

"Did you bring a cooler?" Chad asks as Jared hops out of his truck and pockets his keys. 

With a roll of his eyes, Jared hops onto the back wheel of the truck and swings into the bed. "What am I, an amateur?" He loudly pats both of the coolers he stuffed full of ice and alcohol back at the house, and then sits atop one of them with a wink. "This is the best you could do? Really? No strippers? No mind-numbing house music and strobe lights? Just a fucking drive-in theater in the middle of nowhere?"

Chad huffs, offended. "First, I didn't plan it." His eyes cut to the guy fiddling with the radio inside the cab of the truck - his cousin, if Jared remembers correctly, though he's not intimately familiar with every member of Chad's family - and then back to Jared. "Also, naked women and bad house music is Phase Two."

Of course it is. They're going to get suitably, illegally shit-faced out here and then roll up in some backwoods strip club after, pretending they're Hollywood big shots even though they graduated from high school with half the dancers on the stages. It won't be awkward at all.

Jared lounges in the back of his own truck while Chad curses at his cousin and enthusiastically greets everyone who shows up for this little soiree. He knows most of them pretty well - it's hard not to when he grew up with a lot of them - and this isn't exactly different from their usual Saturday nights in the summer. It used to be hard to find a parking place, back when they were kids, smuggling their friends in for free by shoving them in the trunk a few miles down the road. These days, it's a miracle if the place is more than half full for a showing. Jared's not sure why - it's a movie on the big screen under the lazily stretching night sky. What could be better?

He's also not sure how many of the men assembled near Chad's truck were actually invited to this party and how many of them were here anyway and ambled over for the beer Chad always has in the back of his truck at these shows. The big sign at the front entrance insists, boldly, that there is no alcohol allowed on the premises. It might as well be fine print. Jared figures they'd inspect the coolers upon arrival if they really gave that much of a damn. 

It's nearly ten o'clock, dusk fading into darkness, when one of the girls from the concession stand brings Chad a tall stack of empty Coca-Cola cups. "I was never here," she says with a wink, turning on her heel and yipping when Chad smacks her ass.

"Love you, baby!" Chad shouts after her, drawing catcalls and whooping cheers from his friends. She raises her middle finger over her head in response and Jared can't help laughing. He's glad Chad found a girl who easily puts up with his shit, and gives it right back, to spend his life with. Or the next few years, at least. With Chad, that will feel like an eternity.

As the screen crackles to life ahead, Jared quickly tunes his radio to the correct station and pries the back windows of the truck cab open so he can hear. He's just settling down in the bed, back propped comfortably against his coolers, when he hears a throat clearing at his side. Jared rolls his head to find Jensen Ackles smiling shyly at him.

"Howdy," Jared greets lazily. "I didn't know you were coming."

Jensen shrugs. "I've never been to an honest-to-god drive-in before. Rosenbaum said I had to come."

"Never?" Jared asks, mind blown at the thought. 

Jensen didn't grow up here, with them, but he's been around town for a couple of years now. He works with Rosenbaum, hangs out with Jared's friends on occasion, but isn't a hometown staple. It's probably for the best; staying in the closet throughout high school would have been so much more difficult with Jensen haunting those hallowed halls.

"It's kind of cool," is Jensen's response.

Motioning toward the empty side of his truck, Jared asks, "You wanna join me?"

"I don't know," Jensen answers with a conflicted glance around. "I mean, you're over here by yourself. Figure these fuckers know something about you that I don't."

Jared snorts. "Yeah, they all know I get all surly about dickheads telling fart jokes while I'm tryin' to watch a movie."

"Surly?" Jensen's eyebrow shoots up at the word, but he's laughing and that's never going to be a bad thing, as far as Jared's concerned. Jensen's smile is kind of fantastic. "You sure 'bitchy' isn't more accurate?"

Jared takes the barb in stride, returning the smile because it's impossible not to. "Right. Because I'm such a diva," he teases with a wink. 

Jensen casts a look around, as though he's afraid climbing into Jared's truck will somehow imply something to the world at large. If that's the case, then Jared doesn't want to think about what the eight guys in the back of Chad's truck means. He's pretty sure that it's not intentional, that Jensen's probably heard the rumors about Jared but isn't narrow-minded enough to really worry about them, but he can never be too sure. It's not exactly the kind of thing you just ask a friend of a friend. _Does it bother you that I suck dick and really, really like it a lot?_ Yeah. No.

For a brief second, he considers reminding Jensen that he can't catch gay by sitting next to someone who is. Instead, he fishes around in one of the coolers for a bottle of Jack and two-liter of Coke. "I got better shit than they do," he prods.

The smile that breaks Jensen's face is pretty priceless. He swings up into the bed and settles at Jared's side quickly, easily, while Jared mixes his drink with some of the ice from the cooler and hands it over. 

After twenty minutes of relative silence - well, silence in Jared's truck while the rest of their friends act like obnoxious ass hats - Jared asks, "You plannin' on visitin' home this summer?"

They're both staring straight ahead, eyes fixed on the screen, but Jared can hear the smirk in Jensen's voice when he answers. "Are you... I thought. I'm sorry, I thought you said there's no talking in your truck during movies? Or did you lure me here under false pretenses?"

"I believe I said there were no fart jokes allowed," Jared fires back, telling himself that the rush of warmth in his spine is from the ninety degree heat around them, not from Jensen's shoulder bumping against his. 

They fall into another silence, long enough for Jared to forget that he asked a question, before Jensen says, "Things are really busy at work right now. Getting time off is like pullin' teeth, so I'll probably just stick around here for awhile."

Jared nods. "Where's home again?"

"Dallas."

"Right. I knew that. Did I know that? I feel like I knew that already."

"You ask me every time we talk," Jensen informs him with a snort. Before Jared can respond, Jensen adds, "It's nice to know you listen when I speak, though. Really. Thanks for that. I feel so special."

"Hey," Jared defends himself quickly. "I listen. It's just. Look, I'm a very good listener. It's just, sometimes your face is distracting, okay?"

There's a rush of something in his chest, something akin to _holy shit, I just said that out loud, fuck everything_ , but Jensen's laugh is high, sharp, and loud, maybe a little pleased and definitely a lot surprised. It makes Jared proud, for some reason.

"You talk that sweet to all the boys, or am I special?" Jensen asks. When Jared lifts his cup to his mouth, hoping to maybe drown himself in Jack and Coke because, well, what a way to go, Jensen jabs an elbow into his side and causes Jared to sputter all over himself. "Wow, you really are a catch, huh?"

Jared makes a show of swallowing what's left of the drink in his mouth before wiping the rest of it off his chin. "I spit _and_ swallow. What more could you ask for, really?"

"Well, when you put it like that-," Jensen's words trail off as he tilts his own cup to his mouth and returns his attention to the screen. 

They fall into another comfortable silence, one that allows Jared to notice how tightly they're now pressed together, shoulder to knee, without admitting that he's noticing at all. It's really too warm, too humid, to be this close to another human being without air conditioning, but Jared is not complaining. He may be sweating clear through the back of his tee shirt, but he's not going to complain about it when Jensen's bare forearm brushes his every time they take a drink. 

He's just kicked his flip-flops off, resting his bare feet against the smooth metal of the truck bed when the entire vehicle jostles. He and Jensen both turn, startled, to find Chad and Rosenbaum smiling glassily, proudly, at them. Jared is pretty sure they're here accidentally, stumbling drunkenly into the truck instead of intending to stop by and say hi, but it's hard not to laugh when they both offer happy waves of recognition.

"Jared!" Chad shouts loud enough to be heard over the sound of the movie from all of the vehicles nearby. "Hey, buddy! Look, Jensen's in your bed!"

Rosenbaum laughs like it's the funniest, most clever, thing he's ever heard. "But, hey, you're still wearing your pants," he observes, pointing at Jensen's shorts over the side of the truck. Tugging at the hem of Jared's, he looks confused. "You don't wear pants in bed."

Jensen snorts. "Apparently, _you_ don't wear them out of bed, either."

Pulling back to glance down at his boxer shorts, Rosenbaum laughs again. "I'm not wearing pants!" he declares before turning, weaving unsteadily on his feet, and calling out, "NO-PANTS PARTY!" to anyone who might be listening.

Jared waits until Rosenbaum weaves an arm around Chad's neck and drags him off to shake his head and laugh. "They're gonna pass out before we get to Phase Two."

"Do I even wanna know what Phase Two is?" Jensen asks carefully, his eyebrow raised as he considers Jared warily.

"Strippers and bad house music."

"Oh, fuck me."

"Here?" Jared asks, just buzzed enough to think it's a good idea to flirt with a guy who has never given any indication that he might be open to such things. "I mean, I'm not shy or anything, but that seems like the kinda thing that should be kept kinda private."

"You're hilarious."

"All the magazines say that's the most attractive quality a boy can have."

"Yeah, if all the magazines you read are _Seventeen_ and _Tiger Beat_ ," Jensen fires back, his smile warm, softer around the edges than it has been all night. At least, Jared thinks it's softer. Hell if he knows anymore. This night is weird.

Jared drains the final drops of his third drink from the bottom of his cup before he tilts his head. "Does _Tiger Beat_ still exist?"

"You ask like I should know."

"You brought it up!"

Laughing, Jensen shakes his head. "No, I didn't."

Jared stops for a second, replays the conversation in his head, and then turns back to Jensen. Their faces are too close, the faint smell of Jack too sweet on Jensen's breath. "Uh," Jared stammers, licking his lips in spite of himself. It's possible he almost skims Jensen's lower lip in the process, but he blinks that thought away. "I think these drinks were stronger than I thought."

"Lightweight," Jensen teases, his eyes darting obviously to Jared's mouth before he turns his head away. "I mean, you're a fucking Yeti. You'd think you could hold a couple mixed drinks better than that."

"Looks can be deceiving, Jensen. I may look like a brawny picture of manly brawniness, but there is a very delicate princess inside me."

Jensen's face twists at that statement. "Gross."

"Not like that!" Jared exclaims once his words register in his own head. "I do not have a literal woman inside me."

When someone in Chad's truck responds with, " _Everybody knows you only have boys inside you, Padalecki. You don't have to announce it!_ " he realizes he might be drunker than he thought.

He reaches into the cooler for another beer, his arm winding around Jensen's neck as he fishes for something that will ease the heat in his cheeks.

Jensen chuckles softly, leaning a little against Jared's arm. "This how you make your move, Jared? It's pretty cliche - the 'only reaching back for a beer' move."

"I'm not," Jared starts, automatically pulling his arm back as he stammers over his words. "I wasn't trying to," he stops when he notices Jensen's easy smile. "I mean, unless you want me to. Do you want me to make a move? Are you? Am I overstepping? What?" He stops and tries to wrap his brain around his words. "What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"We've been asking that for years," Tom Welling says, patting the side of the truck. To Jensen, he says, "Can you drive this oaf over to the club?"

Jensen nods toward the screen. "Movie's not over yet."

If Jared was thinking a little clearer, he might not think that Jensen seems hesitant to leave the little love nest they've been building here. As it is, he's thinking words like 'love nest' and formulating a plan to stop imbibing before he really embarrasses himself. 

"Yeah, well I've wrestled Rosey back into his pants three times already and I'm pretty sure, if we don't go soon, Chad's going to hate us all for letting him pass out before he saw naked tits at his bachelor party." Tom gives the truck another pat before he heads back to the unruly crowd being wrangled into their respective vehicles for Phase Two.

"Come on, Jay. Dancing naked ladies await."

Jared just huffs and grabs himself a bottle of water from the cooler. Let it never be said that he is not a responsible drinker. He prepares for nights like this, dammit.

The limited wind through the open window helps to clear his head and, along with the water he gulps down on the one mile trip, Jared feels better by the time they get to Hip Huggers. Well, aside from the fact that they're about to enter a place called Hip Huggers. That doesn't make him feel awesome.

"First round's on me, okay?" Jensen says as they trail the rest of the group into the club. He takes in the sights and sounds of a small town strip club and then shoots Jared one of those electric grins. "I have a feeling I'm gonna need it to get through this."

Does that mean something? It sounds like it should mean something, but maybe Jared's still drunker than he thought. Who knows anymore?

Rosenbaum leads Chad to a table right next to the stage, immediately flinging a couple of bills at the feet of Sophia, Chad's ex-girlfriend, who is dressed in a very small piece of leather, dancing to The Beastie Boys. 

He settles into a table near the back of the room and feels Jensen press in beside him immediately. "You can go closer if you want," Jared says, noting the way Jensen leans in to hear him better.

"I'm alright back here."

"It's really okay," Jared assures him, unsure of why he's pushing this. "I mean, Sophia looks awesome naked."

"You come here a lot, Jared?"

Jensen seems amused by that thought. Jared almost hates to disappoint him. "Nah, but that's nothing I haven't seen before," he says with a nonchalant wave toward the stage.

"Really?"

Feigning offense at Jensen's skeptical tone, Jared says, "Well, I mean, who can really say they're definitively gay until they've taken the head cheerleader to a cheap motel after Homecoming and failed miserably at any kind of satisfying sex with her?"

"Oh, man," Jensen says on another of those sharp, surprised laughs Jared's growing so fond of.

He almost says so, but is thankfully interrupted by a red-headed waitress in a gold bikini and knee length go-go boots delivering their first round of shots. "Hey, Danni," he greets easily.

She smiles and slips into his lap once her tray is empty. "Ya know, if you were to ask me where to take a pretty, pretty boy on a date, Jay, this is probably the last place I would recommend." She reaches across him to offer Jensen a hand. "Danneel."

"Jensen," he says, not bothering to correct her assumption.

Jared doesn't really, either, when he says, "Murray's bachelor party," by way of explanation.

"Oh, fuck," Danneel groans, burying her face in Jared's neck for a second. "I'm up next." She pulls back and gives Jared a long, pleading look. "Buy a lap dance. Do it now." 

With a raised eyebrow, Jared rubs his thumb over the smooth skin of her back. "Woman, you are gonna break me." He pulls his wallet out of his pocket and hands her a few bills. "Don't wear yourself out up there," he cautions with mock sternness. "I expect a good show for that later."

Danneel kisses his cheek as she slides out of his lap and tosses another smile at Jensen. "This guy is the greatest. Seriously. You're lucky." 

She's gone before Jared can correct her, though he's not sure he would this time, either. Of course, once he's alone with Jensen again, he's not exactly sure how to clarify the situation. He opts for the lame explanation, "If I buy 'em, jackasses like Chad can't."

Jensen just nods, his attention focused on the table. "Makes sense." He looks up again, his eyes sweeping the club, from the bar to Danneel to the stage and back to Danneel. "I didn't expect the girls to be so hot here."

If Jared's heart sinks to his toes, he ignores it. "They're alright, I guess." He toys with the shot glass before him but doesn't lift it to his lips yet.

"C'mon. You don't have to be straight to appreciate that body," Jensen adds with a nod toward Katie, a petite, leggy blond serving a nearby table.

Jared shrugs. "I grew up with most of these girls. It's weird," he says, considering Katie for a second. "Even if I was straight, she would still be the girl I won Quiz Bowl with in eighth grade."

"And now I feel dirty," Jensen says, grabbing his shot glass and turning his attention back to Jared. "To Chad's marriage," he says.

It's Jared's turn to bark a surprised laugh. "May it be long and fulfilling."

He nearly chokes on his shot when Jensen mutters, "Just like a good dick should be, I suppose," before he slams his own with a wink.

"You forgot thick," Jared says when he's regained his own composure. "Of course, that doesn't make much sense with the marriage metaphor, so maybe you didn't forget it."

Jensen looks like he's going to say something else, but he stops short when the opening strains of The Red Hot Chili Peppers' _Suck My Kiss_ pound through the speakers. The spotlight hits the stage and Danneel charges through the curtain. She looks every part the punk rock prom queen in her fishnet thigh highs and hot pink corset. The scrap of a pleated skirt she's sporting swishes around her hips and leaves not much to the imagination. Jared assumes that's kind of the point, but he always finds himself watching her face instead of her body. She's in control up there, seems to love what she's doing, though he knows for a fact she'd rather be doing it somewhere else. He's bought a lot of lap dances since she started working here; they talk a lot.

He orders another round and tries to ignore the way Jensen is watching Danneel with such appreciation. Objectively, Jared knows she's hot. Even he can admit that it was kind of magnetic the first couple of times he saw her move. He just wishes that Jensen didn't seem to enjoy watching her so much. Admittedly, that's stupid because Jensen can look at whomever he likes and Jared has no reason to say anything about it at all. Especially since Jensen has made no indication that he likes looking at anything _other_ than women like Danneel.

He can't help smiling when the music fades easily into Saliva's _Fuck All Y'All_. They're all too drunk to notice that this song is a big middle finger to every guy tossing cash onto the stage right now. It's so obvious in Danneel's posture and pleased grin, though. She's slapping them all in the face while stuffing their money into her waistband and she's loving every second of it.

"She's awesome," Jensen finally says when the song ends, settling back into the booth they're sharing with a sigh as the waitress arrives with round two.

Jared tips her and smiles, grabbing his glass and raising it to Jensen. They slam the shot faster than the first one, so maybe that's why Jared nods toward Jensen when Danneel returns to the table to deliver the dance Jared paid for earlier. She looks more confused than Jensen, but Jared shakes his head and stands from the booth. "He's one of the good ones," he assures her, dropping a kiss to the top of Danneel's head before he makes his way to the bar. 

He thinks about ordering more shots, two or three or twelve, but settles for asking Gabe for a bottle of water instead. Maybe he should head up to Chad's table and making the most of his friend's bachelor party. He should. That's why he's here after all.

He's about to stand when he feels a light hand on his shoulder. "Hit me, Gabriel," Danneel orders.

Jared turns to her in surprise. "I paid for a longer show than that, lady."

She shrugs as Gabe hands her a water bottle. "I did the best I could, man, but that boy is not into me."

"He was a minute ago," Jared says. It comes out far more bitter than he intended.

Danneel just snorts and drains half her bottle in one, impressive gulp. "Just because you like lookin' at the Mona Lisa doesn't mean you wanna fuck it."

"Even I know you're way hotter than Mona Lisa," Jared says, ignoring the way his heart springs out of his stomach and back into his chest, beating double time at Danneel's assurance.

She shakes her head and says, somewhat disappointed, "Yeah, well you'd never know it from the tone of that conversation."

A terrible thought occurs to Jared. He doesn't know Jensen as well as, well, practically everyone else in this room. "He didn't say something rude, did he?"

"Oh, Sweetie," Danneel says in that tone of voice that conveys just how sorry she feels for just how slow Jared is. "He is very, very gay. Maybe more than you are."

Jared snorts. "Right."

She twirls on the stool and arches toward Jared, weaving her arms around his neck. "Jared, try to think like your average straight boy for a second. Hell, think like a mildly bi boy for a second." She leans forward, until her nearly naked breasts are pressed against his chest, her left leg snaking seductively over his thigh. "How do you think this would make you feel?"

A hot blush creeps up Jared's neck, bleeding into his cheeks, all the way to the tips of his ears. "It would be, um. It would probably be very nice? I don't know. Yeah, it'd be good. You feel. You're very pretty."

She laughs and rests her head against his shoulder, whispering against his ear. "I gave him my very best moves, and Jensen didn't get even a little bit hard until I started talking about you. So stop pouting and get your perky little ass back over there."

Jared's heart takes a leap this time, right into his throat. He croaks a little and then nods, confident in her assessment of the situation. "Can you, um, Danneel?" She hums against his neck. "Can you maybe get off me? Please?"

Retracting her limbs, she slips from her stool and smacks Jared's ass as she sashays into the crowd with another tray of drinks.

Jared turns his attention back to the booth, where Jensen is doing something with his phone. He can do this. He can head back over there. He can see if Jensen has any interest in ditching this stupid party and heading back to his place. Or maybe out for coffee. He's not a fucking teenager anymore, dammit. He can talk to a hot guy, especially when he has it on good authority that the hot boy is open to it.

"So, how was it?" he asks as he slides back into the booth, not even worrying about the way he presses his side to Jensen's again, maybe closer than they were in the truck earlier tonight.

Jensen looks up with an expression that can only be described as extremely bored. "Does this look like a water pistol?" 

"It looks like a squirting penis," Jared says of the water gun Jensen is trying to draw in his game of Draw Something. 

"Yeah, that's what I was afraid of."

With a smirk, Jared asks, "Freud would probably have something to say about that."

"I don't really care what Freud thinks of my squirting penis."

"Stop saying 'penis.' Please." Jared sets a beer bottle in front of Jensen and can't help smiling when Jensen looks up to accept it.

"You brought it up."

"That's what I hear," he says easily, raising his own drink toward Danneel as she passes.

Instead of confirming or denying, Jensen settles back in the seat and says, "One of us should probably slow down soon, if we have any hope of getting home tonight."

Jared would suggest that Tom and a couple of the other guys have offered to be designated drivers for anyone who needs one, but he can tell now that Jensen's not interested in having Tom take him home. And that is just fine, as far as Jared is concerned.

He pushes his beer bottle to the center of the table and flags Sophia over. "Can I get a burger?" She gives Jensen an assessing look and then smiles so brightly, Jared is sure she's going to embarrass him completely. Instead, she flounces away with a soft, knowing giggle.

"Ya know," Jensen says when she's gone, "If a girl I failed to fuck properly giggled like that around me, I might be self-conscious about it."

"That's so sad," Jared retorts. "Being so insecure of your own prowess that you're still hung up on bad sex from ten years ago."

Jensen nods his concession, but then says, "It would be, but even in high school I had awesome sex."

"Yeah," Jared snorts. "I'm sure you were great at it, even the first time."

"No, but I was good at it." Turning until they're only inches apart again, Jensen shifts back to whisper against Jared's ear, "I'm great at it now." He pulls back, squeezing at Jared's thigh with a spark of something hot and hungry in his eyes. "Danneel said you need shit spelled out for you sometimes. Was that clear enough or should I...do I need to be more obvious about wanting to fuck you?"

Jared tilts his head and covers Jensen's hand with his own. "You purposely waited until I ordered food to tell me this, didn't you? So I'd have to wait? Sit here, knowing what's gonna happen later while I try to choke down a burger?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of an asshole sometimes." He's so proud of himself, but he looks so good being proud. Jared can't decide if he wants to kick Jensen or jerk him off under the table.

"It's alright," Jared assures him, letting his hand drift high on Jensen's inseam. "I like assholes."

Jensen smirks a split second before Jared realizes what he's said. "I've heard that about you."

Without giving Jared time to ask if that's okay with Jensen, he closes the space between them and answers the question pretty definitively. The way his hand cups Jared's dick through his jeans and gives it a soft squeeze kind of erases all doubt completely. 

“We gotta get outta here soon,” Jensen mutters against Jared's open mouth.

Jared sweeps his tongue along Jensen's bottom lip as he nods. “Yeah. Like now.”

When they finally pull away, Jared finds his burger waiting on the table in a to-go box. 

Best. Bachelor Party. Ever.


End file.
